


Unexpected Heritage

by Sapphire_Tornado



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Chameleon Arch, Gen, Genderswap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-24
Updated: 2012-10-24
Packaged: 2017-11-16 22:51:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/544719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphire_Tornado/pseuds/Sapphire_Tornado
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Rory's twenty-fifth birthday and his parents have just dropped a bomb on him leading to the discovery of a family he never knew he was part of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Heritage

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before the season started back up and broke all of my feels. For this story I've stuck to mainly the show canon but I've thrown in Alex who is Susan's son in the books but that's probably the only thing from the books I'll put in.

 ()()()

"Rory!" Amy yelled from the front door

"Yes dear" the man answered from his place in the backyard. He was fixing Amy's lopsided streamers. Today was his birthday, he was turning twenty-five and Amy wanted to throw him a big party with all their friends and family.

"I've gotta run to the store and pick up the cake." she called "And the mail's here. You've got something from your mum, isn't she coming tonight?"

"My parents are supposed to come…?" Rory said walking to the front door

"Maybe she mailed it awhile ago and it got lost?" Amy said kissing Rory "I'll be back soon, so don't be eating all that food I just bought Birthday Boy." She bopped his nosed and kissed him one more time before walking out the door.

Rory turned the envelope over in his hand a few times looking at it. He had talked to his mother on the phone last night; she did mention some news coming. Hadn't she apologized? Rory shook his head and went back to looking at the envelope. He torn it open and pulled out a letter and smaller red envelope. He unfolded the letter and saw his mother's small print.

_My Dearest Rory,_

_This is the hardest thing that I've done. We never should have kept it secret it only makes this harder. My sweet baby, my Rory, your father and I haven't always been honest with you._

_Twenty-five years ago today your father and I went to the hospital with every intention of bringing home a baby. The thing was that I wasn't pregnant, we adopted you._

_Your mother was lovely young woman, but so young barely twenty years old. Alli Masters was her name. She was ill and unable to care for a child especially not when the father wasn't present in your lives. She didn't want to give you up but she had to and the envelope enclosed is from her. She asked that we give it to you on this birthday._

_I know that we should have told you before that we adopted you, but we were afraid that you would hate us. Melody seemed to cause so much trouble for her parents when they told her she was adopted, we didn't want the same thing to happen to our sweet baby boy. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us because we love you so._

_Love,_

_Mummy and Daddy_

Rory read the letter a few times before sliding down the wall. He was adopted and his parents had never told him. They seemed to cover every base for why they'd never told him and why his birth mother had given him up but that still didn't make what they did right. Rory chose to ignore this in favor of grabbing the red envelope, which had fallen at his feet.

Sighing Rory toyed with this envelope as well, it was smaller with a few bumps meaning there was something inside. It was unopened but looked as though someone had debated opening it for the last twenty-five years, probably mum, Rory though. Rory opened this envelope more gently than the one from his parents. Inside was a small teardrop shaped crystal and a letter. Rory looked at the crystal before placing it on the floor to read the letter.

_Theta, or whatever that couple named you,_

_Hello dear, I'm your mother I suppose. I was in female form when you were born, so mother is appropriate in this situation. You should be twenty-five now which means that it's 2014. This is the year that I dropped your older sister off in. I don't know where I but I presume I'm in trouble and I'm going to need your help._

_I know that you're probably wondering why you should help a parent that you never met but I couldn't take care of you. Nobody would have let me take you when I had a different face. You see Time Lords and Time Ladies weren't supposed to have children anymore because after the birth of a child you regenerate, actually that went for anybody on Gallifrey, this is why children were loomed. I gave birth to you and had to run from the hospital. But I'm sure that meant nothing to you. Just prick the top of the crystal and I can explain everything._

_-The one who was in labor with you for TWELVE HOURS_

Rory stared at the letter in shock… Time Lords and Time Ladies? No he must've read it wrong, he thought. Each time he read the letter he got more and more frantic… he was part Time Lord or Gallifreyan. Rory threw the letter and began scrabbling to get away when he nicked his finger on the sharp part of the crystal.

The crystal seemed to take the blood inside turning the crystal red. Rory got up moving from the crystal once it started to glow ominously. He threw his arms over his eyes as it glowed brighter until he couldn't see the light, which had been bleeding through. Cautiously Rory put his arms down. In the middle of the hallway there is a man huddled and bloodied.

Rory's nursing instincts kick in and he's reaching out to feel for a pulse when the man gasps sharply and turns onto his back. Rory scrambles away again when the man begins to glow gold in the same way he's seen the River and the Doctor when they're about to regenerate. One minute the hallway is engulfed in the blinding golden light and the next it's gone.

"Well you going to sit there all day." a distinctly feminine voice asked. Rory pulled his arms away from his face again and saw, instead of a blond, bloodied man, a petite young woman with long dark hair. "You got a wife?" the woman asked. Rory noticed that she looked a little awkward in the clothes her past body had worn.

"Yeah" Rory said

"Can I use some?" the woman asked. Rory nodded dumbly and lead the woman who seemed so close to his own age to the closet that he shared with his wife.

Rory grabbed a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a one of Amy's old bras as an afterthought. While he was grabbing clothes the woman was walking around the bedroom looking at the pictures. The one taken at their wedding with the Doctor seemed to catch her eye. "Here" Rory said passing her the clothes

"You married a ginger" she said with a small smile "I'm gonna wash up and change, then we'll talk." Rory watched her walk into the bathroom before he looked at the wedding photo. The woman hadn't been focused on Amy; she'd been looking at the Doctor.

"Did you know him?" Rory called from the bedroom

"We'll talk soon" she called back starting the shower

Rory realized that wasn't a yes but it also wasn't a no. He went back to the closet as grabbed the pair of old lavender low top converse that Amy never wore anymore and then he got a pair of Amy's socks. "Hey Theta… I actually don't know you're name, but these boxers are trashed… got anything else?" the woman asked turning off the shower

Rory knew Amy had just bought some underwear and found the bag on the dresser. He grabbed the pair off the top. "Here" Rory said holding the panties out by the door; an arm poked out of the door and grabbed them.

It was about five more minutes until the woman came out of the bathroom with her old clothes and a little green box in her hands. "What's that?" Rory asked warily handing her the converse and socks.

"You'll see" she said with a smirk as she put the socks and shoes on. That really didn't comfort Rory. She shoved her bloodied pants, shoes and the shirt at him, but kept the hoodie tucked under her right arm. Rory followed her as she stopped in the hallway again.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she got onto the floor and began moving papers

"Where is it?" she mumbled shifting through the stuff on the ground. "Gotcha!" She held the little teardrop shaped crystal up triumphantly. She got off the floor and ran outside, Rory made sure to stay close.

As he came outside she was putting the crystal into the box. "What are you doing?" Rory asked more urgently

"Changing the settings" she said cryptically. She closed the top of the box and whispered two words in a language that Rory didn't understand. After that she pricked her finger on the box and placed a drop onto the lid. Rory watched in a mixture of fascination and horror as she pulled the crystal out and pricked her finger.

"Wha-" Rory was cut off when the woman dropped the now glowing crystal. She backed away, not out of fear or confusion but as if she knew something big was coming. Rory was shielding his eyes for the third time in twenty minutes when the light became blinding. When the light was gone Rory pulled his arms down again and saw that seven more people stood in his yard.

"Dad…" River was the first to speak. She moved towards Rory and the strange woman who summoned everyone cocked her head at the two of them.

"What's going on?!" yelled a blonde young lady who seemed around Rory's age

"Rose…" the older blonde woman behind whispered. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder pulling her and a blond boy of about six closer to her.

"Where are we?!" the brunet teenage boy asked hugging an older brunette woman, presumably his mother, tight to him. Another woman stood next to them nodding enthusiastically. Both women were dressed in the same outfit, probably a uniform.

"All in good time my dears" the woman said "Speaking of which, does anyone have a watch?"

"Yeah… why?" the woman in her son's arms said. The trio in uniforms all pulled out fob watches.

"Do you have the time?" the recently regenerated woman asked

"It doesn't work" they all said in unison. They each looked at each other in momentary confusion.

"Please try" she said with a smirk

The woman who'd been nodded looked around the backyard. Then she began to look at the writing on the top and pressed the button opening it. The watch began to glow the same color as the regenerative light and she looked up with a new light in her eyes. She looked at the woman who'd asked her to open it and said "Daddy?"

"Oh my sweet Atropos" she said opening her arms the older woman. Atropos flung herself into the welcoming embrace.

The teenage boy being curious opened his watch as well. The same light went to him, only less of it. He looked at his mother and then at the two women hugging. "Time Lords" he muttered at them

"Time Ladies" Atropos corrected "and you are…?"

"Alex Campbell" he said "and this is my mother Susan. The Doctor said there was a war and that all people of Gallifreyan blood and the knowledge of such were being pulled back."

"So he fob watched you" Atropos said rolling her eyes

"Did he do it to you too?" Alex asked peeking at his mother. She was still stroking the watch thoughtfully as if waiting for it to make the first move.

"No, Daddy fob watched me after…" she closed her eyes and whispered "That actually happened didn't it?"

"I didn't get there in time; it must have been one of those set instances." Atropos's mother said

As they were talking Susan finally opened her watch. Once the light had come out of her watch she flung herself into Atropos's arm. "Oh Mother, I thought you had died. They said that Father had passed but that your body had been unaccounted for." Susan cried into her mother's arms

"My darling Arkytior, my little rose" Atropos said rocking her daughter

"You're collecting family" Rory said turning to the dark haired woman

"True" she said "I have my daughters and my son, granddaughters and my grandson, and a great-grandson."

"Daughters?" the woman called Rose stepped forward "Are you saying my mother is related to you?"

"Jackie, do you still have that locket?" the woman asked Rose's mother

"Of course" she said pulling it out

"Open it for me" the woman said

"It's never opened" Jackie said, but she tried anyway. The locket opened and the light came again almost the same amount as Alex's watch. She looked at the group of Time Lords… Ladies, whatevers and laughed. "Mum!" she launched herself at the dark haired woman

"Mum?!" the girl Rose said. She pulled the six year old closer to her as if to protect him. "What's going on here? Why is she calling you mum?"

"Well, as… what's your name Not-Theta?" the woman asked

"Rory" he said "And why do you keep calling me Theta or Not-Theta?"

"I named you Theta but I was sure that the couple who adopted you gave you a different name." the woman said.

Rory nodded and asked "Is Jackie a Time Lord… Lady?"

"In a way, but in a way you are too. I had to repress Jackie's memories of her time with me. I'll give Shakespeare credit for the whole 'from his mother's womb untimely ripped' thing, it was true for a Gallifreyan too because I didn't regenerate. We traveled together until she was seven and I was shot." the woman said taking her blonde daughter's hand

"Mum told me that she was going to regenerate but people had seen her getting shot so she could take me with her anymore. She 'died' in the hospital after repressing my memories of the travels. I was adopted by the Prentices shortly after that." Jackie supplied

"I can't regenerate though" Rory said looking at River briefly. She was looking at the other Time Ladies in shock and awe.

"Neither can I" Jackie said "It's because we're half human and we weren't conceived in a Time Vortex."

"So I can't regenerate either?" Alex asked

"I don't believe so darling." Susan said reaching for her son

"We need to get out of here soon." the woman said "Atropos do you still have my key?"

"Yes, but Daddy your TARDIS must be long gone." Atropos said taking off a key shaped necklace

"Don't you remember?" the woman asked. Atropos shook her head in mild confusion. "The day I saved you I took your TARDIS with us. I towed it to Earth with me and left mine with you. I took yours back to Gallifrey. That means that I have a TARDIS still on Earth."

"But how are we going to get it?" Susan asked

The dark haired woman pressed the base of the key and smirked. There was the distinct noise of a TARDIS as one began to materialize in the backyard, sending napkins and plates flying everywhere. Suddenly there was a small silver car in the middle of the yard. "I saw a human using something like this to find their car and I thought that was a good idea. So I modified it to bring my TARDIS to me." she said with a shrug "Well let's go"

"No" Rose was the first to speak. She gently moved the little boy behind her. "No"

"Rose's right. I have a husband…" Jackie trailed off looking at Atropos apologetically

"And I'll make sure you get back after we do one thing as a family. Please" the woman pleaded. Jackie looked at Rose and the little boy before she nodded. Atropos took the keys from the woman and unlocked the driver's side door. She slid in but was unseen through the windshield. Soon the car was transforming into a little wooden hut.

Atropos poked her head out and said "You coming"

Susan, Alex and Jackie made to go into the TARDIS when Rose called out. "Mum! What are you doing? How can we trust this person?"

"It's my mum Rose. I trust my mum." Jackie said

"But what about me and Tony" Rose asked picking the little boy up

"Come with us"

"But the Doc-" Rose began

"Will wait for you, we're not going to be gone forever." Jackie said taking her daughter's hand and moving them towards the TARDIS. "I want more than anything to travel with my mum one last time, just like you wanted with the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" River looked at Rose in confusion.

"Yes, I used to travel with him." Rose handed Tony to Jackie who followed her half-sister into the TARDIS. Susan ushered Alex into the TARDIS while eyeing the two women skeptically.

"Are you Rose Tyler?" River asked

"Yes and you are?" Rose asked

"River Song" As the two women glared at each other the dark haired woman began to move them towards the TARDIS. The pair continued to question each other seemingly unaware that they were being ushered into anything.

"Coming Rory?" the woman asked with a smile that set of all sorts of warning bells in his head

"Who are you?" he finally asked the question that had been plaguing his for the last forty minutes.

"Your mother" she said gently pulling him into the TARDIS. As she closed the door she leaned towards his ear and whispered "I'm also called… the Master." As the Master locked the door Atropos began the TARDIS and they left Earth.

()()()

Amy came stood at her front door cake in hand. It had taken her almost an hour to get the stupid cake because they had screwed up the name and the girl bringing it to her dropped it. Luckily for Amy some wedding had been recently called off.

"Rory I'm home and look what I got!" Amy called as she walked into the front hallway. Amy almost dropped the cake as she saw the state of the hallway. "Rory? Rory Williams?!" Amy called. She ran out to the backyard and found that it was as much of a mess as the front hallway. She searched the entire house and found no sign of her husband anywhere.

Amy grabbed her cell phone and dialed the numbers that had been placed in for emergencies. "Hello?" came the familiar voice

"Rory's missing" Amy cried "The house is a mess and Rory is missing. We've been planning this party for his birthday for weeks now he wouldn't have left. Doctor something's wrong!"

"I'll be right there" the Doctor said. Amy sat against the wall until the familiar whooshing sound came from the backyard.

Amy ran out to meet the blue police box she had come to see as a second home. The Doctor poked his head out of the door and looked at Amy. "Come along Pond." he said. Amy rushed forward toward the TARDIS; they were going to find her husband.

()()()

"The Master?" Rory asked

"What?!" River turned to look at her father and the Master. "The Master, as in the Doctor's enemy?" she began backing into the TARDIS's console. Rory began to inch away from his so-called mother as well, scaring River was hard so this person must be bad.

"And his husband" Atropos said quietly playing with the controls. River and Rose looked at her with identical looks of shock. "Where we off to Dad?" She ignored her nieces' looks.

"Tivoli, we can conquer them in a matter of minutes." the Master said looking at her eldest child

"Granddad! Really?!" Susan asked indignantly. Alex on the other hand looked vaguely intrigued.

"Like when I was Queen Jacqueline?" Jackie asked with childlike excitement

"Same place my dear" the Master said

"Wait, wait, wait!" Rose said frantically "Husband?! You and… and my- I mean the Doctor."

The Master looked confused as how to answer and looked to Atropos for help. "It's called essence bonding." she said rolling her eyes "It's the Gallifreyan equivalent of an Earth marriage. Two people either choose to bond or it is 'suggested' by an elder, which means that you have to. A Gallifreyan's essence is what humans view as the soul; the essence is the only thing that doesn't change when you regenerate." Atropos said

"An essence bond is unbreakable, except for death and sometimes not even then. Granddad and Grandfather chose their bond which means that it is stronger than one like… my mother and… father's." Susan said bowing her head

"It's a thousand times stronger and more bonding than a human marriage." the Master said tapping a beat on the TARDIS console.

"Dad?" Atropos watched the tapping "Still?"

"They never truly leave but they are quieter. I think it's just from having them there for so long." she said still tapping out the four beats

"The drums" River whispered. The Master nodded at her in response. This seemed to snap River back to reality and she asked "How do we even know that we're related to you?"

The Master rolled her eyes and said "Fine, I'll tell you how I'm related to each of you." She stood on the seat near the console. He grabbed Atropos by the arm and looked at her intently. This body seemed to be in her late thirty's with jet-black hair and honey colored eyes. "Atropos is my first child. The Doctor- my Theta- and I decided that we wanted a child so when were in our early hundreds we loomed her. She is half him and half me." The Master said describing his eldest child "She's on her fourth body. When she was first loomed she had Theta's blonde hair and my blue eye."

Atropos smiled at her mother and placed Rory in her spot. "What do you mean loomed?" he asked

"As I wrote to you, on Gallifrey the birth of a child means you regenerate because of this the higher ups wanted to make have away to reproduce without wasting regenerations. This led to the creation of the looms. The looms allowed two Time Lords or Time Ladies combine their DNA's into a new life, their child." The Master said exasperatedly

Rory, River, Rose and Alex all looked thoroughly confused but the Master ignored their stares. "Rory or Theta, as I named him, is my only son and my second child. Your father was a man from England in…1251." Rory looked at the Master in shock, which was ignored. "His name was Henry Winchester… or was it Henry _of_ Winchester." The Master stopped to think for a second and then nodded. "It was the latter, but he was married and a king." There was a chorus of 'what's and 'wait's from everyone in the TARDIS. "When Atro's TARDIS informed me I was pregnant I stopped in February 1989. Rory was born August 8th of the same year."

"A king?" Atropos said laughing

"He was… _vaguely_ attractive and Ushas may have gotten me drunk." the Master said

"The Rani! You were drinking with her?! You know she could always drink you under a table." Atropos said with a laugh.

The Master just shrugged and pulled Jackie over towards him. "Jacqueline is my youngest child. Her father was a man from Florence in 1498. His name was Niccolò Machiavelli; he wasn't anything special at the time. Jackie and I went to see him from time to time, as per her request. When I found out I was pregnant with her I stopped in September 1966. In the end of January 1967 the doctors thought they lost her heartbeat, so they did an emergency C-section and Jackie came into this world on February 1st, completely healthy. We traveled together until the incident that we discussed earlier." The Master kissed his youngest child's head.

"My turn" Atropos said hopping up on the chair with her Dad. The Master stepped down and let his eldest child talk about her daughter. Atropos grabbed Susan and began talking about her. "Susan or Arkytior, which is her given name, is my only child." Atropos looked over her child taking in her dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes and her face that looked as though it had seen at least thirty years. "She's still on her first body. Her father was my bonded Lachesis."

"The Moirai" River said

"That was what the Greeks called us. Lachesis and I had a friend named Clotho who traveled with us. When we visited Greece we were all in female bodies. We played some _little_ tricks on them." Atropos said with an evil smirk. "Your turn bro" She gestured for Rory to take her place.

Rory got up a little uneasily and pulled River to him. "River's story is a huge mess to explain but the quick version is my wife Amy got pregnant while we were traveling in the Doctor's TARDIS. Amy was taken by the Silence, Melody Pond was born and they trained her to kill the Doctor. She grew up as our friend in a different body than our baby. Then on a trip with the Doctor she regenerated into this body and in doing so became River Song, which is the closest they could get to Melody Pond in the Gamma Forest's language. So River's on her third body. Then River went against a set instance in time by not killing the Doctor, so we went to some parallel world where everything sucked. There River decided to set the universe right after she married the Doctor. So she 'killed' the Doctor, who wasn't really the Doctor but a _Teselecta_." Rory took a breath and asked "That everything River?"

"Yeah Dad" she said with a laugh

"So he's not dead?" the Master asked. River and Rory shook their heads and Rose let out a sigh of relief. "Damn! He never does die." the Master said tapping out the four beat pattern again.

"My turn" Jackie said as Rory stepped down. She pulled Tony and Rose along with her as she got to the seat. She put her hand on Rose's head and began talking. "This is my eldest, Rose, she's twenty-seven and feisty. Her father Pete died when she was six months old in a hit-and-run. But then when we were travelling with the Doctor we found a parallel universe where Rose didn't exist and I died because of Cybermen." She ignored her mother's snarls and continued. "I married that Pete Tyler and six years ago we had little Tony here." She stroked the boy's blond hair lovingly. "Although I'm surprise Rose hasn't married that human version of the Doctor she lives with back home."

"Mum?!" Rose said indignantly swatting at her mother. The Master rolled her eyes, cause seriously were all her grandchildren, not biologically related to the Doctor, in love with him.

As Jackie got down Susan got up and place Alex in front of herself. "This is my son Alex, my husband David and I had him eighteen years ago. David passed when Alex was seventeen shortly before Grandfather came to protect us from some war. I also had a C-section but it was because the doctors thought he was in breech position." Susan stepped down with the help of her son.

"Are you happy now?" the Master asked River "You can see how everyone is related. Now let go conquer a weak and defenseless planet." She smiled evilly as Atropos took the control and began to pilot the once more to Tivoli.

()()()

"We have to figure out who did this!" Amy said pulling the Doctor out of his TARDIS.

Something glinted in the grass and caught the Doctor's eye. He stooped down to pick it up; it was the teardrop shaped crystal. "Amy, is this yours?" the Doctor asked eyeing the crystal

"No, I don't like that kind of jewelry." Amy said eyeing the crystal. The Doctor looked at the crystal again and then ran into the house. Amy followed after a moment. She found the Doctor in the hallway digging through the papers on the ground. "What's that?" Amy asked when he held a piece of paper up triumphantly

"A letter from Rory's birth mother it would appear" the Doctor said reading the letter over

"And that means...?" Amy asked

"She came for him and she's a Time Lady." the Doctor said seriously handing Amy the note

"Do you know who it is?" she asked flipping the letter over "It's not signed" Amy looked up as the Doctor ran back to the TARDIS.

"No, but I have an idea!" he called over his shoulder. He ran into the TARDIS beckoning Amy to follow. "We just need to put this into the TARDIS's console and she'll run the DNA scans." As the Doctor placed the crystal on the TARDIS's console she began to make a shrieking sound as if in fear.

"What does that mean?" Amy asked looking at the Doctor's wide-eyed confusion

"That this is far worse than I originally thought." he said attempting to calm the TARDIS

()()()

The natives of Tivoli scurried around bringing food for the Master and her family. The takeover had been relatively easy; they had landed and said that they were taking over. The natives had asked what they would like brought to them while telling them that they would be provided anything they could want. Finally the Master just told them to leave the throne room.

Now the Master sat on the throne wrapped in her black hoodie from her previous regeneration just thinking. "Mum...?" Jackie came up next to her cautiously

The Master shook her head and looked at her youngest with a smile. "Yeah Jacks?"

"My husband... I- I miss him. Can you take us home?" Jackie asked

"I don't know how to get to the parallel universe, Atro's looking for an opening though." the Master said pulling her knees tight to her chest

"What's wrong with you?" snapped River. She and Rose were still brooding over the fact that the Doctor- the man they both loved so much- was married.

"It's so quiet in my head..." the Master whispered. With the drums quiet she felt a sense of emptiness and loneliness.

"When I was younger they were quiet." Atropos said wiping her hands as she stepped out of the TARDIS

"But your father was the one quieting them. Now I feel so empty and _alone_." The Master wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't feel like myself, there's no ever present need to conquer and all the hatred in me seems to have ebbed." The Master felt something wet on her face. When she reached her hand up to feel what it was she found that she was crying, she had never cried before. Soon she was engulfed in several pairs of arms belonging to Atropos, Jackie and Susan. The dam finally broke after more than a thousand years and the Master cried in the comforting arms of her family.

Rory, River and Rose snuck into the TARDIS hoping this would provide a distraction so they could contact the Doctor. Alex gave the dirtiest of looks as he moved to comfort his great-granddad. The trio hugging the head of the family glared at the Doctor's former companions as well. Even Tony, who didn't really understand what was going on, looked disappointed in them as they walked away. They ignored them in favor of sending out a signal for the Doctor to find.

()()()

"What do you mean worse?" Amy asked angrily

"I mean that I thought it might be the Rani or Romana." the Doctor muttered to himself. Then he turned to Amy and began to explain. "This crystal is actually very advanced technology. With a special box you can tell the crystal whom to bring to you. Then by adding your DNA to the box it will pull them to you once you prick your finger on the top of the crystal. Gallifreyan parents would use them to pull their children and grandchildren to them." Then he gently stroked the TARDIS's console as if apologizing. "The TARDIS reacted the way she did because she remembers the DNA, the Master."

"Master?" Amy scoffed "She into some dominatrix stuff?"

"She is usually a he, at least in most of his regenerations, and he's... evil and hell bent on conquering the universe." the Doctor said just as the cloister bell began to go off.

"What's wrong now?" Amy asked in exasperation

"Another TARDIS in trouble?" the Doctor said looking over the console "It's going to lead us to Rory." he said starting up the TARDIS. Amy and the Doctor began their journey to Tivoli, to find Rory.

()()()

"What are you doing?!" Atropos roared as she shut off the distress signal. "You can't hit things! You hit the distress signal! Just hope the Doctor didn't hear that." she snarled the last part

Rory felt guilt unexpectedly rising in his chest. He may not like what was happening but this Time Lord was still his mother and he was treating her so badly. She was still having a complete mental breakdown and he was only going to make it worse. Rory moved towards the Master. River placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dad, the Master's evil." she whispered

"And my mother" he said pulling his shoulder away from her. He walked over to group huddled around the Master. Tony was hugging her leg that was closest to him, Susan and Jackie were each huddled into one of her sides, Alex was stroking her hair awkwardly from behind his mother and Atropos was drying her tears with the tissues she'd grabbed. Rory settled himself behind Jackie and began stroking her hair like Alex.

River and Rose stood in the TARDIS doorway. They were close to the throne but neither was willing to put aside their distrust and comfort this person who was the enemy, and supposedly spouse, of their Doctor.

The room was quiet aside from the Master's sobs and her family's muttered words of comfort. The silence quiet was broken by the sound of another TARDIS. River and Rose perked up considerably but the Master only seemed to sob harder. She pulled herself away from her children and grandchildren as she tried to curl into the tightest ball possible.

"We'll cover you." Atropos said standing in front of her dad. Jackie and Susan followed suit. Rory and Alex looked at each other awkwardly before taking their places next to their half-sister and mother, respectively. Tony jumped forward to stand in front of Atropos. They could hear the Master's crying slow just a little at their protectiveness.

"Hello sweetie" River said as the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor looked at River and Rose came into his line of focus.

"Rose..." he whispered looking at the young woman he had left in Pete's World.

"Doctor?" she whispered stepping closer. The two exchanged glances for a few more moments before Rose threw herself into his arms.

Amy ran out of the TARDIS as the Doctor hugged his former companion. "Rory!" She ran the short distance and flung herself into her husband's arms. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" she asked seriously

"I'm fine Amy, I've learned quite a bit about myself and my half-siblings." he said with a small laugh. He placed a hand on his mother's head as she choked back yet another sob.

"Let's go, the Doctor says that the Master is evil." Amy said trying to pull Rory away from his place by his sister's side.

He stroked his mother's hair gently as her sobs became more hysterical once again. "That may be true but she's still my birthmother and she only left because she had to." Rory said

The Doctor looked at the group standing in front of the Master and gasped in surprise. He looked at group surrounding the throne. "Susan... Alex...? What's going on?" he asked

"Granddad brought the family together." Alex said in annoyance

"I've met my Aunt Jackie and Uncle Rory." Susan said defensively

The Doctor moved forward but was stopped by Atropos. "Don't" she said warningly. As she stepped forward the family-turned-guards moved to fill her spot shielding the still crying Master from the Doctor.

"Atropos" he whispered at his daughter. He reached out and stroked her cheek as if to check that she was real. "I thought you were dead, they told me you had died."

"Who told you?" she asked in a shaky voice

"The council who declared Clotho and Lachesis dead, they said your body had been unobtainable." he said taking his daughter's hand as if she would disappear at any moment

"Daddy saved me and used the Chameleon Arch to protect me from the fresh pain of a broken bond. He left me in the diner that you would leave my daughter and grandson in." Atropos said looking at Susan and Alex

"I was only trying to protect them" the Doctor muttered

"And that's what Dad was doing for me and Rory and Jackie when he left us in our respective times." she said solemnly

"Then why is your dad bringing the family together like this?" the Doctor asked

"Maybe I was tired of being lonely." the Master said standing on the throne. Alex and Rory each took one of her hands as she began to sway. She looked at the Doctor with puffy red eyes.

"Master..." the Doctor said breathily. He looked at the crying young woman standing over her family

"I like it when you use my name" she said choking back another sob. "The drums Doctor, the drums..."

"Are they still there?!" he asked frantically "If they're still there they're going to use them to try coming back again."

"The drums... the drums are gone." she whispered "It's too quiet. They were never this quiet when you weren't there."

"You left me not the other way around." the Doctor said harshly, earning him a slap from Atropos

"Because he had to!" Atropos said angrily

"Atro...?" the Master said frightened

"I was in the other room when it happened." she said looking pointedly at the wall. The Master shook her head and began to cry again.

"When what happened?!" the Doctor asked, he was getting frustrated

"When your family threatened Daddy... and hurt me." she whispered the last part.

"WHAT?!" the Doctor and the Master roared in unison

"After you left" Atropos whispered at the Master

"They promised to leave you and your father and the rest of our family alone if I left." the Master said desperately

"What's going on?!" Rose yelled

"I think we're about to hear the story of why the Master left the Doctor all those years ago." River said

The Master nodded and sat down on the throne with Rory's help. Her family parted so everyone could see her. "Your family was always opposed to our relationship." she said to the Doctor "They had always made it a point to tell me how you could have done so much better. They always told me that they'd had plenty of people that they would have had you bonded to and it was my fault these plans would never happen."

The Master paused and thought a moment before continuing. "As time passed and our family grew their dislike came in the form of threats more often. The day that I left Gallifrey for the first time they had asked to talk to me. I knew if I didn't go they would find me and make it worse on me. So I went over there. Your entire family was there... except your mother."

"She liked you" Susan whispered

The Master nodded before continuing. "They told me that I was so bad for you but they couldn't break the bond without running the risks of breaking you mentally, they cared for your mind. They wanted me to leave you and this time they didn't threaten me... they threatened... they threatened..." she trailed off in tears

"You, Father they threatened you." Atropos picked up the story "I was in the next room, they didn't know but I could hear everything. They told Dad if he didn't leave you right then that they would kidnap you. They would kidnap you and torture you to death, in front of Dad. They would kill you until you could no longer regenerate and then they would keep Dad alive for as long as possible. They said they would make it a hundred times worse if he told you or if he brought you when he left."

Everyone in the room was taking the information differently. The Doctor shook with unconcealed rage. Susan was crying softly as she held the still sobbing Master closer. Alex was stroking his mother's hair in an attempt to calm her. Jackie was holding Tony as if to protect him. Rory was explaining how the Doctor and the Master were Atropos's parents to Amy. River and Rose were staring at Atropos with twin looks of horror and fear. And Atropos was starring at her feet, a look of pure hatred on her face.

"Daddy ran, I was told later that's when he left Gallifrey alone for the first time. Then your father came into the room that I was in. He told me that I wasn't allowed to tell anyone what I'd heard or he'd hurt Arkytior, Lachesis and Dad." Atropos said as tears slipped down her cheeks "I told him that he wouldn't get away with this and... and... do you remember the sword in the drawing room?"

The Doctor nodded to angry to use his words and the Master let out a pained wail. "H- he... he stabbed me in the stomach and w-went for m-my neck when... when Grandmother shot him. He couldn't regenerate but I did. Grandmother told me to run, so Lachesis, Clotho and I left shortly after Dad. I knew that you would protect Arkytior and I couldn't risk getting her from your house." Atropos's body shook as she cried

Everyone in the room was either crying or looking at Atropos in horror. The Doctor stepped forward and took his daughter into his arms. "I'm sorry. My father was a bastard." the Doctor said in an attempt to sooth his daughter.

The Master got up shakily and walked to the pair. "I'm sorry he hurt you because of me." she whispered, as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. The Doctor adjusted his arms so he was holding both of them to his chest. The Master looked up at him through watery eyes and said with a laugh. "I liked the lanky form better."

Atropos laughed and the Doctor joined in. Their little family reunited after hundreds of years of horrors, pain and anger. "I'm so sorry" the Doctor whispered to the two in his arms. He had known that his family disliked the Master and Atropos and Susan by proxy, but he never thought it had been that bad.

Atropos extracted herself from her parents' arms and hugged her daughter and grandson. River had found her way into Amy and Rory's arms as well. Jackie and Tony were hugging Rose as well. The Doctor was still wrapped around the Master. "The quiet's not so loud now" the Master whispered as she tucked her head into the Doctor's neck.

"Travel with me" he whispered in her ear "Not as a prisoner, but as a... friend. We can start over." The Master looked up at him with a sad smile.

"I don't want to be lonely" she murmured

"So long as you don't try to take control of the universe again." the Doctor said with a laugh

"I don't want to anymore" the Master said seriously "I don't feel the need for total power anymore."

As the pair of Time Lords continued to talk quietly, Rory looked at River. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked his daughter

"Look how happy he is." she said sadly "He was never that happy with me."

"He's looked that happy with you" Amy insisted

"It never reached his eyes quite that much" River whispered. Amy and Rory took their heartbroken daughter into their arms once again, truly feeling like parents. "I knew that I never truly had his heart" she said to herself

"I thought I did" Rose said as she came up behind the Pond-Williams family. "The Doctor who I've been with in Pete's World told me that he loved me with his whole heart, he even told me his real name. But maybe it's just him who loves me like that." She gestured at the Master and the Doctor who were still speaking privately.

"He told me his real name as well." River told Rose

"Because he thought he'd lost his bonded." Susan said walking over with her mother and son "I hate to say this but you were..."

"Second best" River whispered. Nobody commented but they all stood in silence for a short time watching the pair of Time Lords speak privately.

"Jackie I should take you, Rose and Tony back. I found a small rift in Germany." Atropos broke the silence

"But I'll never see Mum again." Jackie said looking conflicted.

"I found extra crystals and boxes in my Dad's TARDIS; I'll show you how they work when we get there." Atropos said

She turned back towards her parents who were looking at them still semi-wrapped in each other's arms. "You're leaving" the Master said looking at her youngest sadly

"Yeah Mum" Jackie said with a sad smile. She hugged her mother and said "I'll be free everyday from 1-2 pm if you ever want to pull me here."

"Of course dear" the Master kissed her cheek. She turned to hug Tony and whispered "Goodbye little one. If you ever have questions about why Grandma is older just ask Rose's Doctor, okay?"

"'Kay Grandma" he said hugging her again "I'm glad you look happier." The Master and Rose just exchanged cordial nods.

The Doctor hugged Jackie and Tony before turning to Rose. "Look at you" she said with a laugh "A bow tie? Really?"

"Hey, bow ties are cool!" the Doctor said

"I remember when you wore a leather jacket and had the biggest ears." she said laughing

"They were pretty big, weren't they?" he laughed before becoming serious "I've missed you, you were an important part of my life. You pulled me from a truly dark place. Thank you" The Doctor pulled the girl into a huge hug.

"I've missed you too" she said hugging him back "You changed my life"

"I'll see you later Dad" Atropos said hugging the Master "And you too Father" she hugged the Doctor

"We'll come with you, Mom" Susan said as Alex nodded at her side

They hugged the Master and the Doctor before following the Tyler's and Atropos into the Master's TARDIS. Everyone was quiet until the TARDIS had disappeared.

"We should get you back to clean up for your party." the Doctor broke the silence

"Yeah" Rory said taking Amy's hand. The pair stepped in the Doctor's TARDIS. River held back as did the Doctor and the Master.

"Go on ahead Koschei, we'll be right there" the Doctor said nudging the Master forward

"Is she still mad at me, Theta?" she asked eyeing the TARDIS warily

"Probably, just don't touch anything" he said squeezing her shoulders

Once the Master was in the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to look at River. "I'm sorry" he said looking genuinely apologetic

"It's alright, I understand." River said taking his hands "I'll work on my archeology; there's a professor's position I've heard that I could take." She said excitedly

"You should" the Doctor said with a sad smile. She kissed him one last time before stepping into the TARDIS, shortly followed by the Doctor.

()()()

The Doctor and the Master helped the Pond-Williams clean up and reset everything for Rory's twenty-fifth birthday party.

The party went off without a hitch, the Doctor and the Master stayed for the entire evening. The Doctor had to help explain River to Amy and Rory's parents, who had yet to meet their granddaughter. The Master avoided most people, choosing to stay curled into the Doctor's side. She did talk to Rory's other mother for a short period of time.

When the party was over the pair helped clean up before leaving. "Thank you for helping me get back my stupid husband." Amy said hugging the Doctor "You are always there when I need you aren't you."

"I try to be" he said hugging her back

Amy moved towards the Master and shook her hand. "It was nice meeting Rory's birthmother" she started politely "But don't ever take him when I planned a party in his honor again!" she threatened

The Master laughed and said "Of course"

Rory was shaking the Doctor's hand when the Master walked up to him. "Thanks for helping Amy through her little freak-out." he said

"She just wanted to find her husband" the Doctor said smiling

Then Rory turned to his newly found birthmother. "It's was nice to meet you" he said awkwardly "and all your side of the family."

The Master smiled and threw her arms around her only son's neck. "It's so nice to see that you grew up well." she whispered "Happy birthday, even if I was in labor with you for _twelve hours._ And thank your wife for the outfit."

River was the most awkward of the goodbyes. She and the Master just nodded at each other, as the Master had with Rose, but suddenly the Master whispered "I'm sorry" to the Time Lady.

River blinked at the Master a few time before saying "It's not your fault; you were together since before I was born and longer than I've been alive."

"Thank you" the Master whispered as she slipped into the TARDIS. She was exhausted and emotionally drained from regenerating earlier that day.

The Doctor looked at River sadly before she pulled him into a great big hug. "Call me if you get any big jobs or anything interesting happens." he said returning the hug

"I will" she said, kissing him on the cheek

"I do love you, you know that right?" he asked her "It's just..."

"I know, you love her more and it's not something even you can explain. She's just the one you've loved since you were... I don't how old" River said

The Doctor hugged her and Amy one last time before turning and stepping through the TARDIS's doorway. "And it was eight by the way." the Doctor turned to face River

"What?" she said clearly confused

"I've loved Koschei since we were eight and we were roommates at the Academy." the Doctor said "And if I'm honest with myself, I never truly stopped." River nodded as the Doctor closed the door and the TARDIS began to disappear.

"Wow" Rory said "Since they were eight, isn't he in like his thousands?" he asked River

"If I'm at the right point in time he's a little over eleven-hundred." she said turning to face her parents

"That's so long" Amy said

"I waited two-thousand years for you." Rory said "The Master was just the Doctor's Amy." Rory looked at the sky as if he could see them among the stars.

"Yeah" River said looking at the sky with her father.

"Well, I need a drink" Amy said "Let's go!"

The odd little family went inside and grabs the wine and some glasses. The three then went and sat outside starring at the stars and drinking in silence.


End file.
